Can anyone identify this iris? I saw it growing in Elizabeth Park, Hartford, CT, today, June 17. Foliage is variegated, with a thin white edge on each leaf.

Definitely an early Japanese iris.

Iris ensata 'Variegata', I believe.

I. Kaempferi Variegata

both the same

Check out Iris ensata Silverband too as it also has variegated leaves and is widely available.

Thanks to all!

Is there a way to distinguish these two possibilities?

You would have to grow both and check which has the most points of similarity with yours is the best I can suggest. You could also call one of the vendors/hybridizers of Japanese iris and see if they can give you any input.

According to this blog, iris ensata Silverband is a synonym of iris ensata variegata.
http://nzataatotarabirch.blogs...

I asked Elizabeth Park and received the following response from Ruth Bennett in which Variegata and Silver Band are distinguished from one another, and Variegata is stated to be what I saw at Elizabeth Park and posted to this thread:

"Hello! Iris Silver Band is a cultivar bred from Japanese iris Variegata. Bauer/ Coble hybridized it in the late 1980's. Therefore they are two separate irises, similar but with distinct differences. Silver Band is known for more reddish purple blooms.
Hope this helps.
We,have JI iris Variegata at the park. Ensata Gardens should have Silver band in their catalog for that is the business of Bauer/Coble. Our Japanese irises we purchased from Eartheart Gardens of Maine which have New England hybridized JI irises."

So I would like to upload my images to Variegata, but I noticed that it has been combined with Silverband in the NGA database.

csandt said:I asked Elizabeth Park and received the following response from Ruth Bennett in which Variegata and Silver Band are distinguished from one another, and Variegata is stated to be what I saw at Elizabeth Park and posted to this thread:

"Hello! Iris Silver Band is a cultivar bred from Japanese iris Variegata. Bauer/ Coble hybridized it in the late 1980's. Therefore they are two separate irises, similar but with distinct differences. Silver Band is known for more reddish purple blooms.
Hope this helps.
We,have JI iris Variegata at the park. Ensata Gardens should have Silver band in their catalog for that is the business of Bauer/Coble. Our Japanese irises we purchased from Eartheart Gardens of Maine which have New England hybridized JI irises."

So I would like to upload my images to Variegata, but I noticed that it has been combined with Silverband inthe NGA database.

Follow-up:

I just checked the Ensata Gardens website, and it lists Variegata as a synonym for Silverband in agreement with Robin's finding:


So I will upload the images to Silverband.

Thanks to all!

Carol - Since you don't know for sure which iris you really have you shouldn't post your pictures to the database. The database is used by many people and posting an unverified iris hurts the integrity of the database itself. We need to be able to trust that the photos are really of that specific iris and no other.

Lestv said:Carol - Since you don't know for sure which iris you really have you shouldn't post your pictures to the database. The database is used by many people and posting an unverified iris hurts the integrity of the database itself. We need to be able to trust that the photos are really of that specific iris and no other.

Ruth Bennett, who provided the information on the iris I saw and whose images I posted, is president of the Connecticut Iris Society, which maintains the irises at Elizabeth Park. According to her, the cultivar is Variegatta. I would be glad to post my images in a Variegatta database entry. However, within the past couple of days, the entry for Variegatta has been combined with that for Silverband, and the two are listed as synonyms under the Silverband entry. Combining the two cultivars under the Silverband listing is consistent with (1) the article referenced by Robin and (2) Ensata Gardens' listing for Silverband. If an NGA database manager subsequently determines that the two cultivars should be separated after all, then the database manager is free to move my images from Silverband to Variegatta. At present, there is no entry for Variegatta.

I bought mine under the 'Variegata' label, from the trusted Ensata Gardens, but was told specifically that it and 'Silverband' were one and the same and was told to post it under 'Silverband'. If the two are separated I hope mine will go under 'Variegata'.

Carol - sorry, I misread the part about Elizabeth Park's response.

It is interesting that the differentiation is one has more reddish purple blooms. Could that not differ with soil conditions? It certainly changes the color in bearded iris. But if Ensata Gardens sold it to Arlene as Variegata and not as Silverband (which they registered) then they must see enough differences to mark them as two separate iris. I am curious what they would say about the two.

Lestv said:Carol - sorry, I misread the part about Elizabeth Park's response.

It is interesting that the differentiation is one has more reddish purple blooms. Could that not differ with soil conditions? It certainly changes the color in bearded iris. But if Ensata Gardens sold it to Arlene as Variegata and not as Silverband (which they registered) then they must see enough differences to mark them as two separate iris. I am curious what they would say about the two.

Based on the American Iris Society's "Iris Encyclopedia" it appears that Silverband is a registered cultivar but Variegata is not. Please enlarge the following images to verify this statement:




You can access the Japanese iris section of the encyclopedia here:
http://wiki.irises.org/Ji/WebH...

Also, as previously mentioned, Ensata has a listing for Silverband but not Variegata. Variegata is part of Ensata's Silverband entry. Please enlarge the following image to verify this statement:



Eartheart Gardens, source of the Japanese iris at Elizabeth Park and my images, does not appear to list either Variegata or Silverband as available for sale. You can verify this statement here:

http://www.eartheartgardens.co...

This plant has been sold for decades under the name Iris ensata variegata, which is obviously formatted as a scientific name. However, it isn't a recognized one. Nurseries commonly attach these pseudo-scientific names to plants that have what they consider to be note worthy traits (variegata for plants with variegated leaves, alba for plants with white flowers, etc). To make a long story short, this plant was eventually given a, more proper, cultivar name of 'Silverband' in 1989. Naturally, some nurseries continue to sell it as Iris ensata variegata, just to maintain plenty of confusion.

This sort of thing happens now and then. Border Bearded Iris (Iris 'Minnesota Mixed-Up Kid') was in commerce for decades, under a variety of different names, before it was registered with AIS in 2003.

Kent ~ Thank you for clarifying this web of confusion.

Thanks Kent.

Carol - I wasn't doubting your statements, nor do I need verification. Your friend, Ruth Bennett called them two separate iris. So, I was musing on what differences there could be that Ensata Gardens would sell both Variegata and Silverband. As Arlene bought hers from Ensata Gardens and it was labelled "Variegata", and not under their name "Silverband" I just wondered if they had felt there were enough differences to, at one point, sell the iris under two different names.

Lestv said:Thanks Kent.

Carol - I wasn't doubting your statements, nor do I need verification. Your friend, Ruth Bennett called them two separate iris. So, I was musing on what differences there could be that Ensata Gardens would sell both Variegata and Silverband. As Arlene bought hers from Ensata Gardens and it was labelled "Variegata", and not under their name "Silverband" I just wondered if they had felt there were enough differences to, at one point, sell the iris under two different names.

Leslie,

I come from a scientific background where verification is normal and expected.

I think Kent's explanation solves the remaining issues. Thanks for your questions, which were essential to the clarification process.